F-18 crash attributed to rare dual engine failure

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Photos:Photos: Navy jet crashes into apartments

Navy jet crashes into apartments – A Navy jet crashed into apartments on April 6 in Virginia Beach, Virginia, sending flames and thick black smoke into the air.

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Photos:Photos: Navy jet crashes into apartments

Navy jet crashes into apartments – The two crew members ejected from the jet, and only seven people, including the pilots, were injured.

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Photos:Photos: Navy jet crashes into apartments

Navy jet crashes into apartments – This map shows the approximate location of the crash.

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Photos:Photos: Navy jet crashes into apartments

Navy jet crashes into apartments – "I work right across the street from the apartment complex," iReporter Chris Johnson said. "As soon as I saw the smoke, I ran out and took pictures before the police showed up."

Navy jet crashes into apartments – iReporter David Bryan saw smoke from his hotel balcony in Virginia Beach and shot this photo. "You could smell the jet fuel, and all we could see was the black smoke," he said.

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Photos:Photos: Navy jet crashes into apartments

Navy jet crashes into apartments – One of the plane's seats lies near the crash site. Retired rescue squad member Pat Kavanaugh said he and others found one of the two plane crew members who ejected.

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Photos:Photos: Navy jet crashes into apartments

Navy jet crashes into apartments – Spectators watch as smoke billows from an apartment building in Virginia Beach.

Navy jet crashes into apartments – Firefighters from the city of Virginia Beach and the Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Fire and Emergency Services respond to the crash of the jet, which was assigned to a Naval Air Station Oceana squadron.

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Story highlights

The F-18 crashed into a Virginia Beach, Virginia, neighborhood in April

This is the first time two unrelated F-18 engine failures have occurred at the same time

Though the jet hit an apartment complex, no one was killed

A Navy F-18 fighter jet that crashed into a Virginia Beach neighborhood in April experienced dual engine failure, marking the first time an F-18 has had two unrelated catastrophic engine failures at the same time, according to a report released on the investigation.

In the first five seconds of flight, the jet's right engine stalled from a fuel leak, the investigators said. The pilot tried to compensate with extra thrust from the left engine but it also failed due to an unrelated problem with the afterburner.

"It was not a single failure but an extremely unusual and complex multisystem emergency," Rear Adm. Ted Branch said at a press conference Monday.